South Park Stand 13/01/1990 - Memories | Page 2 | Vital Football

South Park Stand 13/01/1990 - Memories

I don't recall ever seeing the stairs at the front, which I assume were a post-Bradford addition.

No, they were put in some years before then.

I remember when piles of blocks appeared stacked up at that end of the ground it was thought they might be going to rebuild the wall, but after a while those steps were constructed. We knew then the wall never would be reconstructed as the steps took up so much space.
 
Only ever sat in it twice. 1967 games against Newcastle and Derby. Always wanted to stand on the terraces but my dad took me to those two games so happy memories.
 
The fire escapes providing exit onto the pitch were installed to both stands as a result of the Safety of Sports Grounds Act of 1975. Around the same time buttresses were added to strengthen the perimeter walls and the barriers on the terracing were also strengthened.
 
Many memories of this stand. It’s where my dad used to take us when I first started going. Match wise the West Ham game stands out for a packed stand and great match. Later that season it was Millwall ripping out the benches in the Football League Trophy final. The smell of the old boys pipes comes back to me too. The snack bar in the middle properly had the best view. A classic pre war stand. Well worn but homely. Also can anyone remember the guy who sat at the front winding up the away fans and trying to get a chant going by standing up, shouting City 👏👏 City 👏👏👏 before sitting down again. To me and my mates he was known as The Gob. Think he passed away during a match some years later.
I remember the old boy shouting City; I think it was usually at corners. My first game in there was The West Ham game because I'd had an operation on an infected ingrowing toe nail so had to sit down. I returned to the South Park for one season only during the Vauxhall Conference year. For some reason that escapes me I alternated between all four sides of the ground that year, possibly had my wife with me on the days I sat in the South Park.
I was there when Mick Waitt sustained his awful leg break and couldn't work out why Mick Harford was there watching most of the game from the touchline near to the players' tunnel - I knew he wasn't going to be re-signing for us anytime soon.
 
I remember the old boy shouting City; I think it was usually at corners. My first game in there was The West Ham game because I'd had an operation on an infected ingrowing toe nail so had to sit down. I returned to the South Park for one season only during the Vauxhall Conference year. For some reason that escapes me I alternated between all four sides of the ground that year, possibly had my wife with me on the days I sat in the South Park.
I was there when Mick Waitt sustained his awful leg break and couldn't work out why Mick Harford was there watching most of the game from the touchline near to the players' tunnel - I knew he wasn't going to be re-signing for us anytime soon.

I was in there when the leg break happened, hearing the crack was absolutely awful.
 
I only ever sat in that stand once and that wasn't even for a City match. It was in 1987 when they had just demolished the old St Andrew's and I watched the Lincoln Bombers American football team play a game at Sincil Bank. It was a really bizarre feeling at the time.

That photograph clearly shows the sag in the roof fascia that I remember well. I don't know if it's true but I was told by my dad that the sag in the roof was as a result of some fans climbing up there during the FA Cup tie with Derby when we had our official record gate as he was at the match and he remembered them all sitting there!

What a lot of people don't remember is that the original design for the new stand was for a two tier replacement with another seating deck over the exec boxes but this was scaled back due to funding issues. That is why it looks a bit truncated now. It would have looked great with stunning views of the cathedral from that tier if it had been built. Sincil Bank would have had a nice capacity of about 11,500 now as well!
 
The Wendies taking over the West Bank that day is a bit of an urban myth, I was on there that day and remember the general uninhibited reaction when, after spending most of the second half defending a 2-1 lead with 10 men, Alan Jones helped Grotier's clearance on its way from about 30-35 yards to make it 3-1 late on.

Remember that game and a few Wednesday fans stood near me on the open side, but only a handful, virtually all Imps fans. It was a backs to the wall second second half and I think Jones scored from just inside their half, great goal sent us home happy!
 
I never went in this stand, but was always intrigued with what it would be like to watch a game from there. It seemed to me it would be like watching a game through a letter box, unless you were fairly near the front.
I do remember the trouble from the Millwall fans in the Trophy final . I can't remember the details. Were they put in the SP stand because either they brought a surprising number of fans for a wet Feb midweek or because it was raining and we were doing them a favour?
 
Sat in the old South Park stand only once. It was for the 4th Qualifying round of the FA Cup in 1987 when we played Brigg Town. The match should have been at Brigg, but was switched to Sincil Bank. As my season ticket didn't get me in to Cup ties, I decided to take the chance to experience the old stand :- )=
 
My whole family used to have season tickets in there: Grandad, my Dad, two aunts who went, myself and various cousins.

I watched most of the 75/6 games from there. Back in the day when kids were lifted over the turnstyles and people were told to "utch up" to make room for them. ;)
 
I watched most of the 75/6 games from there. Back in the day when kids were lifted over the turnstyles and people were told to "utch up" to make room for them. ;)
We did too, although I think we must have gravitated towards the stand in around 1972, having stood by the wall on the SB terrace before that. I think my dad must have thought the bigger crowds were making it too unsafe for us as kids then, so he made the change. The one exception in 75/76 was the Stoke game, when we arrived to find the stand full; guess where we went? Yep, right by the wall when it came down. We spent the rest of the match crouching on the pitch in the corner next to the SB terrace. We returned to the SB terrace from around 1978 when we were teenagers and more able to look after ourselves.

My last time in the stand was the NYD 1985 game at home to Swansea, which I remember very well. It was a terrible match, which City won 1-0 with a first-minute rarity from Gary Strodder. But I had been out in Sleaford on New Year's Eve and had forgotten to pack a change of clothes; so I turned up for the Swansea game looking like Paul Young in a linen sports jacket and tie (this was 1985) and essentially froze for the next 89 minutes.
 
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The Wendies taking over the West Bank that day is a bit of an urban myth, I was on there that day and remember the general uninhibited reaction when, after spending most of the second half defending a 2-1 lead with 10 men, Alan Jones helped Grotier's clearance on its way from about 30-35 yards to make it 3-1 late on.
Not sure about that, the game I’m referring to finished 1-1 & they definitely took over the West Bank
 
Not sure about that, the game I’m referring to finished 1-1 & they definitely took over the West Bank
My bad - I'm mixing my dates up, October 76 was one I missed, the 3-1 I referred to was late the following season, it was a long time ago!!
 
My bad - I'm mixing my dates up, October 76 was one I missed, the 3-1 I referred to was late the following season, it was a long time ago!!

March 1978, 8811. Mick Harford and Clive Wiggington with the other goals. Didn't Clive go to work on the Humber Bridge construction ?!!
 
Great photos. My earliest memories of SB are of hoardings up at this end (circa 1991/2) so its great to see the stand as it was.
 
Always stood on the West Bank with my father but went in this stand once when my grandad came with us and he had to sit down and it was a 1-1 draw with Donny with Tony Cunningham scoring our goal.